Los Angeles is not so much a city as a collection of neighbourhoods and communities spread across a vast coastal plain, each with its own character and culture. Understanding this helps unlock the real LA — a destination that reveals itself gradually, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, mile by mile along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Santa Monica and Venice Beach anchor the beach culture on the west side — the famous Boardwalk, Muscle Beach, Abbot Kinney Boulevard’s boutiques and the Santa Monica Pier are classic LA experiences. Manhattan Beach to the south offers a more relaxed, local atmosphere, while Malibu’s 21-mile stretch of Pacific coastline is where celebrities and surfers coexist in the shadow of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Hollywood and the surrounding area is the city’s creative heart. The TCL Chinese Theatre, the Walk of Fame, Griffith Observatory (with its panoramic views across the LA basin to the Pacific), the Getty Center’s outstanding art collection and the electric atmosphere of Sunset Strip after dark are all essential experiences. The Hollywood Hills above Laurel Canyon offer a quieter, more residential LA that feels worlds apart from the tourist circuit below.

Downtown LA has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years — the Broad contemporary art museum, the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, the vibrant Grand Central Market and the burgeoning Arts District all make it worth a half-day at minimum. Beverly Hills and West Hollywood offer luxury shopping and excellent restaurants.

LA’s food scene reflects its extraordinary cultural diversity: outstanding Mexican, Korean, Japanese, Ethiopian and Vietnamese communities all contribute to a dining landscape that is genuinely world-class. The city enjoys near-perfect weather year-round, with warm, dry summers and mild winters.